Ok guys, I'm trying to get excited about owning a 3.8 Camaro, it's kinda hard to do lol What are some of your favorite things about your car?

 

Fun to drive and 30+ MPG on the highway. Sure there are a lot of cars tha can out run it in the quarter mile but there is a lot less that can keep up once we hit the turns.

 

Thanks for the reply! I haven't even driven my car more than 10 feet yet. I was hoping it would handle good, I love a tight feeling corner carver. I was looking for coil overs for these things the other night on ebay, the only set I found were 2500+ dollars!! So I guess i'll just get some eibach lowering springs if it doesn't handle to my liking from the factory. Is your car a 5 speed? I really hope I can get 30mpg! That would be a huge improvement over the 13mpg my cobra gets. Lol

 

Yes it is is a 5 speed. It is a fresh motor with some bolt on (see my build thread in my sig) Your not going to keep up with a well built ricer in a parking lot but these car handle real nice on the larger track. Do tons of research on the handling of the cars before you buy anything. The rearend is picky about what you do to it. Some mods that would normally help a car will hurt a camaro. IMO sway bars are your first upgrade. Struts are next on the list.

 

I'm not wanting a race car or anything, just something I can have fun with on the back roads. And I'll do a search on the suspension, thanks! Also, my car has all options besides t tops and power seats, what's the chances of this thing having a 3:42 gear?

 

Slim, unless you have a Y87 option. That would be rear disks. You can check it. If you search this forum it you can find the codes. The code should in your glove box but the post that has the code info will tell you how to find it.

 

That it's a fun car for what it is, and a daily driver year-round... Also that there is a decent aftermarket of parts to improve performance, mostly thanks to its V8 cousin...

 

Shocks are the worst part of F-Bodies, get some Bilstein HDs (unfortunately on national backorder right now) and you will be much happier... IMHO, STB and welded SFCs will also improve your enjoyment quite a bit too. Also look into some better sway bars, either from an SS, or get Strano's 35/22 mm hollow sways (in my case, my SS sways are going to go on my RS, and Strano Sways on my SS). http://stranoparts.com

Koni SAs (Single Adjustables) are even better (and pricey), but I reserved those for my SS...

If you want lowering springs then do with Stranos (better than Eibach), but then you need Koni SA shocks NOT Bilsteins.

 

What I love about my 99, 3.8L. It is a smooth riding cruiser that is very unassuming and fun to drive. I love hot days with the tops off and the wind in my hair. I may lack the power of my Wife's Z28 but I have better mileage and my car is alot more fun to cruise in than hers. Dont get me wrong I love to play in her car it has power and more power on tap. My little 3.8 can take most stock early 90's Mustang GTs and I get high 20s low 30s on long freeway trips, mid/low 20s in town.

91 Mustang GT 5.0 165 HP
99 Camaro 3.8L 200 HP

You do the math. it would actually be a pretty good race in the 1/4 mile since he does have more torque but I think with a good driver the Camaro would take him in the end of the race.

Love my 3.8L I am not going to swap the 3.8L out of the car ever. Sarah will stay the way she is.

Massey

 

I just like driving them. Since both cars are driven mainly by my kids, I jump in one of them every time I have to go 2 miles down the road to the convenience store. One thing I hate is people who look at me like they think I have a mid life crisis!! LOL. Can't wait to get the ole Z on the road.